CIV 170612 CIV DS1702247 MISC 111702 Scanned Document Coversheet System Code CIV Case Number DS1702247 CaseType CIV THIS COVERSHEET IS FOR COURT Action Code MISC PURPOSES ONLY AND THIS IS NOT Action Date 06 12 17 A PART OF THE OFFICIAL RECORD ActionTime 11 17 Action Seq 0002 Printed by NAVAK YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED FOR TH I S PAGE ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AND FINAL JUDGMENT filed NEW FILE
1 Barbara A Rohr SBN 273353 C Benjamin Heikali SBN 307466 2 FARUQI FARUQI LLP 3 4 er1or NTY OF SqN EERNARDINO 10866 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 1470 JUN 12 20 7 Los Angeles CA 90024 Telephone 424 256 84 Facsimile 424 256 85 5 E mail brohr@faruqilaw com bheikali@faruqilaw com 6 Attorneys for Plaintiff Mastane Shalikar BY NADYA AfCIAfV e p pu n T 8 9 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 10 COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO and on Case No CIVDS 1702247 11 MASTANE SHALIKAR individually behalf of all others similarly situated 12 CLASS ACTION 13 14 vs Plaintiff 15 SKEETER SNACKS LLC I V ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AND FINAL JUDGMENT Date May 24 2017 16 Defendant Time 8 30am 1 Dept S26 Judge Hon David Cohn 18 19 Action Filed February 8 2017 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
1 WHEREAS Plaintiff Mastane Shalikar Plaintiff and Defenclant Skeeter Snacks 2 LLC Defendant collectively the Parties have reached a proposed settlement and 3 compromise of the disputes between them the Settlement in the above captioned action 4 Action 5 WHEREAS the Parties have applied to the Court for preliminary approval of the proposed 6 Settlement the terms and conditions ofwhich are set forth in the Settlement 7 AND NOW the Court having read and considered the Settlement and accompanying 8 documents and the Motion For Preliminary Settlement Approval and supporting papers and the 9 Parties to the Settlement having consented to the entry of this Order and all capitalized terms used 10 herein having the meaning defined in the Settlement 11 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AS FOLLOWS 12 1 The Court for purposes ofthis Order adopts all defined terms as set forth in the 13 Settlement 14 2 Subject to further consideration by the Court at the time of the Final Approval 15 Hearing the Court preliminarily approves the Settlement as fair reasonable and adequate to the 16 Settlement Class as falling within the range of possible final approval and as meriting submission 17 to the Settlement Class for its consideration 18 3 Based upon the submissions of the Parties and for purposes of this Settlement only 19 the Court conditionally makes the following findings 20 a The members of the Settlement Class are so numerous as to make joinder 21 impracticable 22 b There are questions of law and fact common to the Settlement Class and such 23 questions predominate over any questions affecting only individual Settlement 24 Class Members for purposes of the Settlement 25 c Plaintiff s claims and the defenses thereto are typical of the claims of the 26 Settlement Class Members and the defenses thereto for purposes of the 27 Settlement 1
1 d Plaintiff and her counsel have fairly and adequately protected and will continue 2 to fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Settlement Class Members 3 with respect to the Settlement 4 e The proposed Settlement is superior to all other available methods for fairly and 5 efficiently resolving this Action 6 f Accordingly for settlement purposes only the Court certifies a Settlement Class 7 comprised of 8 All Persons who purchased the Covered Products in the United States its territories or at any United States military facility or exchange 9 during the Class Period Excluded from the Settlement Class are all persons who validly opt out of the Settlement Class in a timely manner 10 counsel of record and their respective law firms for the Parties Defendant and any of its parents affiliates subsidiaries independent 11 service providers and all of their respective employees officers and directors the presiding judge in the Action and all of his or her 12 relatives within the third degree of consanguinity any natural person or entity that entered into a release with Defendant prior to the Effective 13 Date concerning any of the Covered Products 14 4 This matter is preliminarily certified as a class action for settlement purposes only 15 pursuant to Cal Code Civ Pro 382 Cal Civ Code 1781 and Rule 3 769 c and d of the 16 l California Rules of Court If the Court does not finally approve the Settlement Defendant retains the right to assert that this Action may not be certified as a class action for liability purposes and 1 g no Party shall rely on this preliminary approval as support for the certification of a class in this or 19 any other action 20 5 The Court hereby appoints Plaintiff Mastane Shalikar as Class Representative 21 6 The Court hereby appoints Barbara A Rohr and Benjamin Heikali of Faruqi 22 Faruqi LLP as Class Counsel 23 7 The Court hereby appoints Rust Consulting Inc as Settlement Administrator 24 8 The Settlement shall be used for settlement purposes only The fact of or any 25 26 provision contained in the Settlement or any action taken pursuant to it shall not constitute an admission of the validity of any claim or any factual allegation that was or could have been made 27 by Plaintiff and members of the Settlement Class in the present action or of any wrongdoing or 2
1 liability of any kind on the part of Defendant The Settlement shall not be offered or be admissible 2 in evidence by or against Defendant or any of the Released Parties as defined in the Settlement or 3 cited or referred to in any other action or proceeding except a in any action or proceeding 4 brought by or against the Parties to enforce or otherwise implement the terms of the Settlement or 5 b in any action involving Piaintiff or members of Settlement Class in which the allegations are 6 based on the same factual bases and allegations set forth in this case to support a defense of res 7 judicata collateral estoppel release waiver or other theory of claim preclusion issue preclusion 8 or similar defense 9 9 A final hearing the Final Approval Hearing shall be held before this Court on 10 I i atg m to determine whether a this Action meets each of the prerequisites 11 for class certification set forth in Cal Code Civ Pro 382 and Cal Civ Code 1781 and may 12 properly be maintained as a class action on behalf of the Settlement Class b the Settlement 13 should receive final approval as fair reasonable adequate and is in the best interests of the 14 Settlement Class in light of any objections presented by Settlement Class Members and the Parties 15 responses to any such objections c orders granting final approval of the Settlement entering 16 final judgment and dismissing the Complaint as provided in the Settlement should be entered and 17 d the application of Class Counsel for the payment of attorneys fees and costs and expenses 18 and an incentive award for Plaintiff is reasonable and should be approved The Final Approval 19 Hearing may be postponed adjourned or continued by further order of this Court without further 20 notice to the Parties or the Settlement Class Members 21 10 Settlement Class Members or their counsel who wish to appear at the Final 22 Approval Hearing must make such request by sending a letter titled Notice of Intention to Appear 23 in Shalikar v Skeeter Snacks LLC to the Settlement Administrator and the Court at the following 24 address 25 Settlement Administrator 2C Settlement Administrator c o Rust Consulting Inc 5635 2 PO Box 2563 3
1 Faribault MN 55021 9563 2 Court Address 3 Clerk of the Court 4 California Superior Court County of San Bernardino San Bernardino Justice Center 5 247 W Third Street 6 San Bernardino CA 92415 0210 Any such request must be filed with the Court and received by the Settlement g Administrator no later than fi 3 2017 The request must contain the name address 9 telephone number and signature of the Settlement Class Member as well as the name address and 10 telephone number of any person who will appear on his or her behal Any request that fails to 11 satisfy the requirements of this paragraph or that has not been properly or timely submitted may 12 be deemed ineffective and shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of such Settlement Class 13 Members rights to appear and to be heard on the Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing 14 1 l Any person included within the Settlement Class who wishes to be excluded from 15 membership in the Settlement Class must do so in writing by mailing a written request for 16 exclusion to the Settlement Administrator no later than 1 2017 The request must i 1 clearly express the Settlement Class Member s desire to be excluded or to opt out from the 1 g Settlement Class ii include the Settlement Class Member s name address and telephone number 19 and iii be signed by the Settlement Class Member 20 a Any Settlement Class Member who wishes to be excluded from the Settlement 21 Class can only opt out for him or herself and cannot opt out for anyone else Nor 22 can any Settlement Class Member authorize anyone to opt out on his or her 23 24 behalf b Any Settlement Class Member who has filed an objection to the fairness 25 reasonableness or adequacy of the proposed Settlement shall be deemed not to 26 have opted out of the Settlement Class pursuant to this paragraph However in 2 the event that a Settlement Class Member makes an exclusion request that appears 4
1 to assert both an objection to the fairness reasonableness or adequacy of the 2 proposed Settlement and a statement of intent to opt out of the Settlement Class 3 such submission shall be treated as a statement of intent to be excluded from the 4 Settlement Class but not an objection 5 12 Any Settlement Class Member who has not timely filed a written request for 6 exclusion from the Settlement Class may object to the fairness reasonableness or adequacy of the 7 proposed Settlement Each Settlement Class Member who wishes to object to any term of the 8 Settlement must do so in writing by filing a written objection with the Clerk of the Court and 9 mailing it to the Settlement Administrator Any such objection must be filed with the Clerk of the 10 Court and received by the Settlement Administrator at the addresses set forth in Paragraph 10 no 11 later than L U r 3 2017 Any such objection must state i the name of this action ii 12 the objecting Settlement Class Member s full name address telephone number and signature an 13 attorney s signature is not sufficient iii a statement that the objector is a Settlement Class 14 Member and an explanation of the basis upon which the objector claims to be a Settlement Class 15 Member iv all grounds for the objection accompanied by any legal support known to the 16 objector or his or her counsel v the identity of all counsel who represent the objector including 17 any former or current counsel who may be entitled to compensation for any reason related to the 18 objection vi a statement confirming whether the objector or any counsel representing the 19 objector intends to personally appear and or testify at the final approval hearing and vii a list of 20 any persons who may be called to testify at the final approval hearing in support of the objection 21 a Any objection that fails to satisfy the requirements stated herein or that is not 22 properly and timely submitted will be deemed ineffective and will be deemed by 23 the Parties to have been waived and the Parties reserve their right to argue that 24 the Settlement Class Member asserting such objection is not entitled to have his 25 or her objection heard or otherwise considered by the Court 26 13 The Court approves as to form and content the Claim Form Long Form Notice 27 and Publication Notice Form attached hereto as Exhibits A B and C 5
a 1 14 The Court finds that the Parties plan for providing notice the Notice Plan will 2 provide the best notice practicable to the Settlement Class under the circumstances and constitute 3 valid due and sufficient notice to all Settlement Class Members fully complying with Cal Code 4 of Civ Pro 382 Cal Civ Code 1781 the Constitution of the State of California the 5 Constitution of the United States and other applicable law All costs incurred in connection with 6 the preparation and dissemination of any notices to the Settlement Class shall be borne by 7 Defendant 8 15 The Court further finds that the Notice Plan adequately informs members of the 9 Settlement Class of their right to object to the Settlement or to exclude themselves from the 10 Settlement Class so as not to be bound by the terms of the Settlement 11 16 Not later than 20 calendar days after the entry of this Order Defendant shall cause 12 notice to be disseminated as follows 13 i dissemination of the Publication Notice in USA Today and 14 ii establishment and publishing of a Settlement website by the Claims 15 Administrator www skeetersnackssettlement com 16 17 The Claims Administrator shall post the Settlement on the Settlement website The 17 Settlement shall include the approved class definition set forth in Paragraph 3 above and the Claim 18 Form Long Form Notice and Publication Notice Form attached hereto as Exhibits A B and C 19 18 The Parties shall file and serve papers in support of final approval of the Settlement 20 by IDv o 2017 21 19 Class Counsel shall file any application for an award of attorneys fees costs and 22 litigation expenses and an incentive award for Plaintiff by VbU M j 2017 23 20 Class Counsel shall file a single memorandum of law that addresses i arguments 24 in support of final approval of the Settlement and ii Class Counsel s application for an award of 25 attorneys fees costs and litigation expenses and incentive award for Plaintiff s efforts and 26 expenses Such memorandum of law shall not exceed 50 pages in length 27 6
r r w 1 21 The Parties shall file and serve reply papers in further support of final approval of 2 the Settlement and or Class Counsel s application for an award of attorneys fees costs and 3 litigation expenses and reimbursement awards for Plaintiffs expenses by no later than 4 2017 5 22 The Final Approval Hearing shall be held at 6 Department Zb tj fn on 2017 in 7 23 The following chart lists the important dates in chronological order 8 Event Pro osed Date Preliminary Approval Order A 2 2017 9 Publication of notice in USA Today an Within 20 days after entry of Preliminary 10 establishment of Settlement website includin Approval Order Long Form Notice il JU 2 Zol Claims Objection Opt out Deadline Within 60 days after publication ofnotice and 12 Settlement website 13 usr 3 i 2017 14 Class Counsel briefs in support of Final No later than 21 days prior to Final Approval Approval Award of Attorneys Fees Costs Hearing 15 Due 16 DUC 1 y b 201 1 Re ly Pa ers Due U 0 2017 Responses to Any Objections Due No later than 2 days prior to the Final Approval 1 g Hearing 19 Nbv c 2 201 Final Approval Hearing No earlier than 30 days after Objection Opt out 20 Deadline 21 v 2 2017 22 23 24 The Court may for good cause extend any of the deadlines set forth in this Order 24 without further notice to the Settlement Class Members 25 25 Pending further orders by this Court all proceedings in this Action other than 2C proceedings pursuant to this Order shall be stayed and all members of the Settlement Class who 2 7 do not request exclusion from the Settlement Class in the manner required by this Order shall be 7 PROPOSED ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
v 1 enjoined from commencing or prosecuting any action suit proceeding claim or cause of action 2 except those based on or relating to personal injury or wrongful death in any jurisdiction or court 3 against Defendant relating to or arising out of the subject matter of this action 4 26 If the proposed Settlement is finally approved the Court shall enter a separate order 5 finally approving the Settlement entering judgment and dismissing the Complaint Such order and 6 judgment shall be fully binding with respect to all members of the Settlement Class 7 27 In the event that the proposed Settlement is not approved by the Court or in the 8 event that the Settlement becomes null and void pursuant to its terms this Order and all orders 9 entered in connection therewith shall become null and void shall be of no further force and effect 10 and shall not be used or referred to for any purposes whatsoever in this civil action or in any other 11 case or controversy in such event the Settlement and all negotiations and proceedings directly 12 related thereto shall be deemed to be without prejudice to the rights of any and all of the Parties 13 who shall be restored to their respective positions as of the date and time immediately preceding 14 the execution of the Settlement 15 16 IT IS SO ORDERED 17 1 g 19 Dated 2017 The Hon David Cohn 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 8